The entry door of 41 South Park St. in San Francisco was salvaged from a mansion in Atherton.

The entry door of 41 South Park St. in San Francisco was salvaged from a mansion in Atherton.

Photo: Olga Soboleva/Vanguard Propertie

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A room with a bay window overlooks South Park Street and the park, and can easily serve as a home office.

A room with a bay window overlooks South Park Street and the park, and can easily serve as a home office.

Photo: Olga Soboleva/Vanguard Propertie

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The living room features hardwood floors and a gas fireplace.

The living room features hardwood floors and a gas fireplace.

Photo: Olga Soboleva/Vanguard Propertie

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The Edwardian home features walnut and stainless steel finishes in its kitchen. The floors are crafted from European oak.

The Edwardian home features walnut and stainless steel finishes in its kitchen. The floors are crafted from European oak.

Photo: Olga Soboleva/Vanguard Propertie

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The bathtub and bidet are from Canadian company Blu Bathworks, the stainless steel tapware was created by the Italian firm CEA Design.

The bathtub and bidet are from Canadian company Blu Bathworks, the stainless steel tapware was created by the Italian firm CEA Design.

Photo: Olga Soboleva/Vanguard Propertie

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The pendant lights illuminating the staircase are reclaimed streetlights.

The pendant lights illuminating the staircase are reclaimed streetlights.

Photo: Olga Soboleva/Vanguard Propertie

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Refreshed Edwardian set in eclectic SF neighborhood

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Renewal. Revival. Renaissance. These synonyms reflect both the Edwardian building at 41 South Park St., as well as the neighborhood in which it is set. Constructed in 1911, the home was erected almost two decades after San Francisco acquired the oval-shaped park. Through the decades, the neighborhood gradually declined from working class to almost blighted. But now the community is a vibrant mingling of residents, tech companies and gourmet lunch spots amid architecturally significant structures. The latest addition to the mix is 41 South Park, a five-bedroom home with finishes from local and international designers.

"This is the pad," said Antoine Crumeyrolle of Vanguard Properties. "Its size is uncommon for the area and it has all the designer finishes."

In addition to Italian lights, Canadian bathtubs and a German security system, the home includes custom steel railings crafted by a Berkeley workshop. An electronic skylight built by San Francisco's Rollamatic Roofs Inc. opens to a private rooftop terrace with built-in spa.

Inside, architectural steelwork fabricated by Captive Spark in Berkeley adds functional three-dimensional artwork to the home. The railing is cut into slabs of steel and runs alongside the kitchen and breakfast nook. Irregular patterns in the etching match a painting of a tree-lined hillside, said Alex Fritch, owner of Captive Spark.

"The owner saw a painting he liked and wanted to mimic that look, so we turned it into a stencil, cut it out and pieced it together," he said.

The process took several weeks, Fritch said, adding that creating the design in a computerized illustration program consumed the most time.

"The computer doesn't know what you want, so you have to edit out and compensate for shadowing," he said.

Craftsmen applied a dark-stained finish to the slabs of steel after they were cut. The same designers fabricated the steel surround for the gas fireplace near the family room.

Past a retractable skylight rests the private roof terrace, which overlooks South Park. The space includes infrastructure for a barbecue or fire pit.

Below, children climb playground equipment and joggers trot laps around San Francisco's oldest public park. Young professionals take lunch breaks in the shade of mature trees, while dogs romp in the grass and adults converse at benches. The street is dotted with Edwardian homes, eateries and businesses, a reflection of the city's diversity and vibrance.

It hasn't always been this way. Fashioned by George Gordon in 1854 like the strolling parks in his native England, the land was only accessible to residents of the upscale neighborhood surrounding the oval garden. San Francisco acquired the land in 1897, but it was destroyed in the earthquake in the fire of 1906, according to the South Park Improvement Association.

Reborn as a middle-class neighborhood, the area stayed largely static or declined during the next seven decades. Urban renewal in the 1980s and '90s sparked new life in the area, as businesses and new owners renovated buildings and took more interest in the park. Today, Instagram, Luminosity and Macworld are among the companies that call the neighborhood home.

In 2015, the South Park Improvement Association expects to break ground on an ambitious redesign of the land that will bring it closer to Gordon's original design. Meandering paths will lead past more playground equipment and an ADA compliant layout. An underground cistern powered by solar energy will help irrigate the land, and bulb-outs throughout the park will make it easier for pedestrians to use the park and cross the street at night.

Set on the third floor, the opulent master suite is a private oasis with amenities on par with a luxury spa. Additionally, a retractable skylight is installed above the shower - a setup beckoning for open-air showers in the afternoon or stargazing beneath a steaming stream of water on the coldest nights.

A pocket door separates the master suite from the rest of the top floor, which offers two additional bedrooms and bathrooms. The side-by-side bedrooms overlook the community park and feature bay windows.

Separate walk-in closets create abundant storage space in the master suite, while the private terrace looks out at the rear garden and patio. In addition to state-of-the-art zoned heating, a dual-sided fireplace warms the room. The fireplace rests beside a Blu Bathworks soaking tub, and produces an amber-colored flame for the bedroom as well.

Though the home embraces modern living with its versatile layout and designer appliances, it doesn't undermine the past.

Illuminating the main level powder room is a cast iron ornament salvaged from a razed building in Toledo, Ohio. Decorative oak leafing graces the curved, linear design colored by a rusty patina. Exposed timber beams decorate the second level's ceiling, giving the luxurious chef's kitchen a tasteful industrial feel.

Pendant lights hanging above the staircase once illuminated streets, and the arched entry door was reclaimed from a mansion in Atherton. The door is monitored by a video security system designed by German company Seidle Steel.

Beside the two-car garage rests a narrow hallway accessible from the street. The opening is wide enough to walk a bike through and connects with one of two atriums in the lowest level of the home. Both atriums are accessible through sliding glass doors and offer a meditative setting.

Though the staging lays the home out with the formal dining room on the lowest level and a breakfast nook by the kitchen, Crumeyrolle said the versatility of the listing is as appealing as its upscale finishes.

"What's staged as the dining room can be made into a living room or media room, and the breakfast nook can easily fit a full-size dining table," he said.

NanaWall Doors beyond the dining room fully open to integrate the backyard with the interior of the home. The receding glass wall allows for guests to mingle and easily transition from indoors to out.

Large walls and ample gallery space invite the display of artwork, adding another graceful dimension to the home.

The five-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom listing is available for $6.25 million and private showings are available by appointment.

Details

Address: 41 South Park St., South Beach

Price: $6.25 million

Features: Five-bedroom, 4.5 bathroom home in a modernized Edwardian building beside San Francisco's oldest public park. The 4,800-square-foot home includes a two-car garage, designer finishes throughout and a private roof terrace overlooking the park.

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